Navy was right choice for Choctaw grad

Navy Lt, j.g Jeffrey Caudill, left, shows a medical team member how detect radiation exposure in sailors aboard the USS George Washington.

U.S. NAVY | Special to the Daily News

By LAUREN SAGE REINLIE / Daily News

Published: Thursday, July 25, 2013 at 09:10 PM.

Navy Lt. j.g. Jeffrey Caudill’s career has taken him underwater, through college (twice) and now to the deck of a 60,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carrier barreling along in the Coral Sea.

The Fort Walton Beach native joined the Navy after graduating from Choctawhatchee High School in 2001 and has never looked back.

He had been accepted to college, but was daunted by the cost.

“I wanted to get an education, but I didn’t want to put my parents into debt,” the now-30-year-old said recently in a telephone interview from the USS George Washington.

The Navy promised educational opportunities and the potential for a lifelong career.

He had an interest in nuclear power, developed in his advanced chemistry and physics courses, and decided he wanted to become a nuclear electrician.

It was a coveted position, a “gold mine” for his recruiter, so the Navy snatched him up.

One of his first assignments was five years on the USS Louisiana, a nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine. He earned a bachelor’s degree while on the sub.

Later, while teaching a basic training course in electronics stateside, he earned his master’s degree in business.

Recently, he was promoted to lieutenant junior grade and went into the medical service field in radiation health.

He was working in a naval hospital at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C., earlier this summer when he received word that there was a last-minute opening on the USS George Washington.

They wanted him, and they wanted him immediately. Within days Caudill had packed up a precious few belongings and flown to his new base at Yokosuka, Japan. He was on deck by June 26.

The USS George Washington is the Navy’s only forward-deployed carrier, meaning the ship returns to port in Japan rather than the United States. It patrols from the north pole to the south pole between the international date line and India, but lately has spent much of its time near China and the Korean peninsula.

The crew now is conducting a joint training exercise with Australian Defense Services in the Coral Sea.

When fully staffed with an air crew, about 5,500 sailors are aboard the ship.

The deck spans more than 1,000 feet — more than three football fields or about as long as the Tokyo Tower would be if it was laid on its side.

Life on the carrier is a much different than on a submarine, in which a large one of those might hold just 170 sailors, Caudill said.

Being on the boat has taken some getting used to, but as an officer he has some space to himself to do his work and take time to acclimate to the abrupt lifestyle shift, he said.

The medical field also is new, although he said he thinks he’s more suited for the work.

“I’m in the service department so I’m here to help people,” he said. “I feel like I am more at home in my field.”

Caudill is the ship’s only radiation health officer. He monitors each sailor’s exposure to radiation to make sure it doesn’t exceed annual federal limits.

When he’s not doing that, he works out at the gym that overlooks the water or studies his Japanese.

After returning to port in about five months, he likely will continue to be stationed in Japan until 2015. He hopes to do some traveling and see the country.

He also looks forward to port visits, which happen every three to five weeks. He hopes to see Hong Kong, Malaysia, everything in the Asian Pacific.

Until then, he passes the time. The sailors have Playstation tournaments, weight-lifting competitions, bingo and movie nights.

“You just get into a routine,” he said. “It makes the time go by really quick.”

In the ship’s library he can record a DVD of himself reading children’s books to send to his two children back home.

He leaves a personal message.

“I tell them part of military service is deploying with ships, and if our country is safe, then you are safe,” he said.

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Navy Lt. j.g. Jeffrey Caudill’s career has taken him underwater, through college (twice) and now to the deck of a 60,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carrier barreling along in the Coral Sea.

The Fort Walton Beach native joined the Navy after graduating from Choctawhatchee High School in 2001 and has never looked back.

He had been accepted to college, but was daunted by the cost.

“I wanted to get an education, but I didn’t want to put my parents into debt,” the now-30-year-old said recently in a telephone interview from the USS George Washington.

The Navy promised educational opportunities and the potential for a lifelong career.

He had an interest in nuclear power, developed in his advanced chemistry and physics courses, and decided he wanted to become a nuclear electrician.

It was a coveted position, a “gold mine” for his recruiter, so the Navy snatched him up.

One of his first assignments was five years on the USS Louisiana, a nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine. He earned a bachelor’s degree while on the sub.

Later, while teaching a basic training course in electronics stateside, he earned his master’s degree in business.

Recently, he was promoted to lieutenant junior grade and went into the medical service field in radiation health.

He was working in a naval hospital at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C., earlier this summer when he received word that there was a last-minute opening on the USS George Washington.

They wanted him, and they wanted him immediately. Within days Caudill had packed up a precious few belongings and flown to his new base at Yokosuka, Japan. He was on deck by June 26.

The USS George Washington is the Navy’s only forward-deployed carrier, meaning the ship returns to port in Japan rather than the United States. It patrols from the north pole to the south pole between the international date line and India, but lately has spent much of its time near China and the Korean peninsula.

The crew now is conducting a joint training exercise with Australian Defense Services in the Coral Sea.

When fully staffed with an air crew, about 5,500 sailors are aboard the ship.

The deck spans more than 1,000 feet — more than three football fields or about as long as the Tokyo Tower would be if it was laid on its side.

Life on the carrier is a much different than on a submarine, in which a large one of those might hold just 170 sailors, Caudill said.

Being on the boat has taken some getting used to, but as an officer he has some space to himself to do his work and take time to acclimate to the abrupt lifestyle shift, he said.

The medical field also is new, although he said he thinks he’s more suited for the work.

“I’m in the service department so I’m here to help people,” he said. “I feel like I am more at home in my field.”

Caudill is the ship’s only radiation health officer. He monitors each sailor’s exposure to radiation to make sure it doesn’t exceed annual federal limits.

When he’s not doing that, he works out at the gym that overlooks the water or studies his Japanese.

After returning to port in about five months, he likely will continue to be stationed in Japan until 2015. He hopes to do some traveling and see the country.

He also looks forward to port visits, which happen every three to five weeks. He hopes to see Hong Kong, Malaysia, everything in the Asian Pacific.

Until then, he passes the time. The sailors have Playstation tournaments, weight-lifting competitions, bingo and movie nights.

“You just get into a routine,” he said. “It makes the time go by really quick.”

In the ship’s library he can record a DVD of himself reading children’s books to send to his two children back home.

He leaves a personal message.

“I tell them part of military service is deploying with ships, and if our country is safe, then you are safe,” he said.